Paleontologists found in the desert of Ocucaje, in the Ica region, a 36-million-year-old fossil of a 1.50-meter-high penguin.
“This measure exceeds the average of this bird characterized by having a plumage of colors, unlike current penguins, reported the Regional Directorate of Geological, Mining and Metallurgical (Ingemmet)”, wrote RPP Noticias.
This species, belonging to the Tertiary or Cenozoic Era, is one of the four that can be considered predecessors of the current Humboldt penguin. It was named Inkayacu paracasensis because it was found in Paracas and means “the king of Paracas water”, said researcher Ali Altamirano.
This research was conducted by the Natural History Museum of the National University of San Marcos, in which skeletons of prehistoric sharks in good condition were also found.
“The sharks have cartilaginous skeletons that deteriorate easily, however, in the INGEMMET, we have part of the fossilized skeleton of a shark, teeth, spine and stomach contents in a good state of preservation”, explained César Chacaltana, Project Manager the Directorate of Regional Geology of the Ingemmet.
Chacaltana also said that the geological conditions in Peru favor the country much more than other latitudes for archaeological findings of this sort.
(Source)
(Cover Photo Twitter)
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